kowtow
pronunciation
How to pronounce kowtow in British English:
UK [ˌkaʊˈtaʊ]
How to pronounce kowtow in American English:
US [kaʊˈtaʊ, ˈkaʊˌtaʊ]
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- Noun:
- a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission
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- Verb:
- bend the knees and bow in a servile manner
- try to gain favor by cringing or flattering
Word Origin
- kowtow
- kowtow: [19] The approved Chinese method of signifying respect for the emperor or other august personages was to prostrate oneself so that one’s forehead touched the ground. This was expressed in Mandarin Chinese by the term ke tóu (ke means ‘knock, bump’ and tóu ‘head’). English took the word over in the early 19th century and spelled it in various experimental ways (koo-too, ka-tou, kotow, etc) before settling on kowtow in the early 20th century.The first writer on record as using the word in the metaphorical sense ‘defer servilely’ was Benjamin Disraeli in his Vivian Grey 1826: ‘The Marqess kotooed like a first-rate Mandarin, and vowed “that her will was his conduct”.’
- kowtow (n.)
- also kow-tow, 1804, from Chinese k'o-t'ou custom of touching the ground with the forehead to show respect or submission, literally "knock the head," from k'o "knock, bump" + t'ou "head." The verb in the figurative sense of "act in an obsequious manner" is from 1826. Related: Kowtowed; kowtowing.
Example
- 1. They are , it is said , less likely to enforce the oecd rules or to kowtow to foreigners .
- 2. And most encouraging , noda won the dpj election because he refused to kowtow to dpj strongman ichiro ozawa , who continues to run interference against the internationalists even after being ejected from the party leadership in the wake of corruption charges .
- 3. He need not and must not kowtow .
- 4. Must I kowtow to him ?
- 5. Adapting a novel for the stage requires courage , vision and a spirit that refuses to kowtow to the original author .